The Main GuardJames Butler, Duke of Ormond, built the Main Guard in 1675 as the courthouse for the Palatinate of administrative area of County Tipperary. In about 1810, the ground floor, a loggia of open arches, was converted into shops, a basement excavated and additional floors inserted. It has been recently restored to its original form and the open arcade of sandstone columns is once again a feature of the streetscape.

A spectacular group of Medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century Castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral. Attractions include an audio-visual show and exhibitions. Access for visitors with disabilities by prior arrangement.

Guided Tours: Available (Please check with site before visit as times may vary)Duration: 45 mins Max No: 50

Opening HoursOpen all Year:Mid Sept. - Mid Oct. Daily 9.00 - 17.30 Last admission at 16.45Mid Oct. - Mid March Daily 9.00 - 16.30 Last admission at 15.45Mid March - Early June Daily 9.00 - 17.30 Last admission at 16.45Early June - Mid Sept. Daily 9.00 - 19.00 Last admission at 18.15Closed 24th to 26th December inclusive.Please note that all groups must be pre-booked.

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO CONSERVATION WORK, ACCESS TO CORMAC'S CHAPEL FOR BUS TOURS WILL BE LIMITED FROM MAY TO SEPTEMBER EACH YEAR. ONLY ONE GROUP AT A TIME WILL BE ADMITTED TO THE CHAPEL FOR A MAXIMUM OF 10 MINUTES. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE CASE UNTIL THE WORKS ARE COMPLETED.

Once the stronghold of the powerful Butler family, the castle retains its impressive keep, tower and much of its original defensive structure. It is one of Ireland's largest and best preserved castles. It is situated on a rocky island on the River Suir. The castle's attractions include an excellent audio-visual show which informs visitors about the castle.

Additional Information: AV presentation entitled "Cahir Castle and the Story of Irish Castles". Duration 15 mins and available in English, Irish, French, German, ItalianLimited access for visitors with disabilities by prior arrangement

Swiss Cottage

A delightful "cottage orné" built in the early 1800s by Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall to a design by the famous Regency architect John Nash. Its interior contains a graceful spiral staircase and some elegantly decorated rooms. The wallpaper in the Salon manufactured by the Dufour factory is one of the first commercially produced Parisian wallpapers. Situated on an elevated site with access by stone steps.Guided Tours:Max No: 12 Duration: 30 - 40 mins.

Additional Information: Please note that this is a very busy site and visitors may experience a delay during the Summer months.Sundays and Bank Holidays - no buses after 12.00 All Groups of 10 or more must be pre-booked.Maximum group booking: 48 persons

Ormond CastlePlease note due to essential refurbishment works, the Castle will be closed to the public for 2015. We apologies for any inconvenience caused.Ormond Castle is the best example of an Elizabethan manor house in Ireland. It was built by Thomas, the 10th Earl of Ormond in the 1560s. Closely integrated into the manor house are two 15th century towers. It is the country's only major unfortified dwelling from that turbulent period. The state rooms contain some of the finest decorative plasterwork in the country, including plasterwork portraits.

Opening HoursPlease note due to essential refurbishment works, the Castle will be closed to the public for 2015. We apologies for any inconvenience caused.Admission: FreeAdditional Information: Please note access for visitors with disabilities is restricted

Ballingarry Famine Warhouse of 1848 During the Great Famine the Warhouse was the scene of the 1848 Rebellion. The house exhibits the history of the Famine and mass emigration, the rebellion, high treason trials and penal exile of the Young Ireland leaders in Australia and their escapes to the U.S.A. Here rebels under the leadership of the Protestant aristocrat, William Smith O’Brien, M.P., besieged 47 police who had barricaded themselves into the McCormack farmhouse taking five children hostage. The exhibition places the Famine Rebellion in the context of 1848 as Europe’s Year of Revolutions in France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Hungary. Access to the ground floor for visitors with disabilities.

Nenagh CastleThe Castle is Nenagh's oldest building, and its construction in the 13th Century laid the foundation for the development of the town. Theobald FitzWalter, whose successors would become the Earls and Dukes of Ormond, built the castle, and upon its completion c.1220, it served as the main seat of the Butler family, until 1391. The Castle boasts the finest cylindrical keep in Ireland. Like most keeps, it formed part of the perimeter of the fortress, being incorporated in the curtain walls surrounding a five-sided courtyard. The Castle has had extensive renovations from 2009 to completion in June 2013.

Tours:Free guided tours available on request.Maximum No.:40 Duration:30 minutes.Groups:Groups of 15 or more must pre-book.

Additional Information:Please note that the stairs in the keep are very steep and narrow. The keep is not accessible for visitors with disabilities. There are interpretation panels on each floor of the castle which allow for self-guiding.

Roscrea Castle(Managed in conjunction with the Roscrea Heritage Society.)The stone castle consists of a gate tower, curtain walls and two corner towers dating from the 1280s. The castle rooms are furnished and some house exhibitions. Built in the early 18th century in the Queen Anne style, Damer House is an example of pre-Palladian architecture. One of the rooms is furnished in period style. Within the complex, there is a restored mill displaying original St. Cronan's high cross and pillar stone.

Additional Information: Access for people with disabilities to the gardens only.​High Crosses of South Tipperary/ Kilkenny.​High Crosses of Ahenny.Information:A splendid example of early Christian art and craftsmanship, these 8th century High Crosses are ornately carved with intricate Celtic designs. The base of each cross has carved figures depicting Biblical scenes including Daniel in the Lion’s Den and Adam naming the animals. Both crosses are made of sandstone and stand over 3 metres high. The Ahenny crosses are part of the Ossory group of High Crosses; Ossory was an ancient kingdom which straddled Tipperary and Kilkenny. They are evidence of a monastic settlement at this site. Situated to the east of Slievenamon Mountain, about 5 miles north of Carrick-on-Suir, Ahenny High Crosses are located in Kilclispeen graveyard.Directions :​Situated: In Ahenny, County Tipperary. From Carrick-on-Suir take the R 697 North, after 5 kilometres take a left at Scrogh Bridge then take the next right. Two kilometres down this road there is a church on your right, the crosses are in a field immediately to the right of the church. Well sign posted.

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High Cross of Killemary​Information:Situated in an old graveyard in Kilkenny is the High Cross of Killamery one of the western Ossory group of crosses. The cross stands at 3.65 metres high and the west face of the cross bears most of the figure sculpture. The east face pictured right, is decorated with three marigolds on the shaft and has a boss in the centre of the head surrounded by intertwining serpents with an open mouthed dragon above the boss. The cross is known as the Snake-Dragon cross. The cross has a gabled cap-stone and the narrow sides have double mouldings. At the end of the southern arm of the cross there is a panel depictingNoah in the Ark and the end of the northern arm features four scenes centered around John the Baptist.There is also a worn inscription on the base of the western side of the cross which is said to read as 'OR DO MAELSECHNAILL' a prayer for Maelsechnaill. Maelsechnaill was the High King of Ireland from 846 to 862.Directions:Situated: From Clonmel take the N76 North, approximately 1.5 Kilometres after Ninemilehouse take a right turn, signposted Killamery High Cross. About 150 metres down this road is a track to your right, walk 100 metres up the track and you will see the cross standing in an old graveyard to your right.

High Crosses at KilkieranInformation:At Kilkieran Co Kilkenny are three Sandstone crosses and the fragments of another high cross. These crosses are part of the Ossory group, which includes the crosses at Ahenny, Killamery and Kilree.​The West Cross, or decorated cross pictured right, is probably the most important and is very similar to the crosses at Ahenny. On the Eastern side of the base there is some figure sculpture showing 8 horsemen, the rest of the cross is mainly covered with celtic interlace but it is unusual, in that some of the interlace on the base is imperfect, which is very rare on high cross sculpture. This cross also has the conical cap we associate with other crosses in this group and is also interspersed with bosses. The cross stands at 3.55 metres high.Directions:Situated: In a Graveyard in Kilkieran, County Kilkenny.From Carrick-on-Suir take the R 697 North, after 6 kilometres take a right turn onto the R 698 towards Owning, the graveyard is about 300 metres down this road on your left.Group: Western Ossory​

Kilcash CastleInformation:Kilcash Castle once occupied by Lord Castlehaven, a noted Confederate Catholic commander in the 1641-52 war, wrote his Memoirs here. The early 19th century song Cill Chais mourns the death of Margaret Butler, Viscountess Iveagh. Margaret Butler married Colonel Thomas Butler of Kilcash Castle after the death of her first husband.Near the castle are the remains of a medieval church with a Romanesque doorway. This building was partially repaired in the 1980s and is now safe to visit. In the graveyard, the mausoleum (a building nearly as large as the church) contains the tombs of Archbishop Christopher Butler (1673–1757), Margaret, Viscountess Iveagh (see below), Walter Butler, the 16th Earl of Ormond (d. 1773) and John Butler, the 17th Earl (d. 1795).[1] Some of the eighteenth-century headstones are carved with elaborate scenes of the crucifixionCill Cháis (Kilcash) was the great house of one of the branches of the Butlers near Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, until well into the eighteenth century.Directions:The Castle of Kilcash is situated at the foot of Sliabh na mBan, not far from Kilsheelan. It was one of the chief seats of the Butler family

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Holy Cross AbbeyInformation:Holy Cross Abbey is a restored Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary. Situated on the River Suir, the site takes its name from a relic of the True Cross (or Holyrood). This fragment was brought to Ireland by Queen Isabella of Angouleme (the widow of King John) around 1233. She gifted the relic to the original Cistercian Monastery in Thurles and then rebuilt after which it received its name Holy Cross Abbey.Over the years, Holy Cross Abbey became known as a place of medieval pilgrimage and during the Reformation, it also became a rallying point for the dispossessed and victims of religious persecution.The Holyrood relic was last exposed for public veneration in 1632 and following the Cromwellian war, Holy Cross Abbey fell into ruins. After 1740, local people used the roofless ruins as a burial place and in 1880 it became a scheduled national monument – “to be preserved and not used as a place of worship”.Special legislation in the Dáil on its 50th anniversary, 21st January 1969, enabled Holy Cross abbe to be once again restored as a place of Catholic worship, exceptionally for a national monument. The Sacristan of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican provided an authenticated relic of the Holy Cross, and the emblem of the Jerusalem Cross or Crusader Cross has been restored for the Abbey​Directions:The Holycross Abbey (Mainistir na Croise Naofa) in Tipperary is a restored Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, situated on the River Suir.